“Must be nice to be the boss,” Charlotte said with a chuckle. “Must be nice being married to the boss,” Xavier said back, holding her closer. “What do we do then? If we don’t go to work?” She asked, the movement of her fingers slowing down on his chest. Xavier turned to face her, supporting his head with his elbow. “Is it that scary to spend an entire day with me?” “No that’s not what I mean at all,” she corrected. “It’s just been so long since I had a whole day besides the weekend to myself so it feels illegal for some reason.” “Even though your boss has already cleared you?” He asked. Charlotte gazed at a spot behind him while she stroked his chin. “I don’t want the other workers to think you’re giving me preferential treatment or something.” Xavier snorted. “They’re free to think that. I want to give you preferential treatment. If anyone has a problem with that, they can hand in their resignation letter to me.” Charlotte pursed her lips. “I know you mean well, but this is
The ballroom reminded Charlotte of her engagement party. It was exactly the same setting, except that whoever was throwing this party must have spent a fortune on it. Every part of the room glowed and it didn’t take her long to discover the chandeliers were made out of real diamonds. Charlotte linked her hands through Xavier’s tightly as they made their way into the hall, as if she was afraid she would go missing if he ever left her. During the short while she had been Xavier’s wife, she had attended a few of these kinds of setting and should probably have gotten used to them, yet she always got an eerie vibe from billionaires who spent fortunes just to act like fools around one another. The fact that basically everyone had come in with a mask on (it was that kind of party) should have made her more comfortable, but it didn’t. She could still make out familiar faces behind their masks and knew they weren’t fooling anyone. “Mr Roman you made it!” A man Charlotte recognized as the
“Why do you want us to leave?” Charlotte asked when Xavier started to pull her away from the venue with no explanation. “We just have to. I’ll tell you everything when I can.” “Stop,” she snapped, pulling her hand away from his. Maybe it was the little shots of alcohol she had taken during the party to help her relax, but everything seemed to be moving so fast. Nothing was making sense anymore and she was tired of being carried along when she was the only person that didn’t know what was going on. “Is it because of that woman? Do you know who she is?” A part of her wished she hadn’t cut off that woman. She had said she had something to say about Xavier… No. She had to stop this. It was good she didn’t listen to the crazy lady. Whatever she had to say would be something blown out of proportion that would end up leading her through another circle of distrust. To be honest, she was sick and tired of that. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Then why are you in a hurry for us to leave?” Xa
“I just got off the phone with my lawyer,” Xavier told Charlotte when she returned to the living room. “Did he check everything?” Xavier nodded. “He did. The divorce proceedings, everything is in order. There’s no loophole she can use to get anything from me anymore.” “Did you speak to Private?” Charlotte asked. Xavier sighed. “Why won’t you speak with him? That’s who you need to talk to,” Charlotte pushed. “I know he practically has access to any information about me he wants, but still, I’m tired of having him run all these personal searches for me all the time,” Xavier complained. Charlotte stared at him in disbelief. “But that’s his job.” “I know…”She placed her palm on his. “I understand what you’re saying, but your lawyer can only go so far. The only person who can discover hidden stuff that could come back to bite us in the future, whether legally or illegally is Private. Once he finds out why exactly she’s here, I’ll send her a message to let her know I’m open to he
Xavier walked into his office with his bodyguard who had gone to join him after dropping Charlotte off. He had a set look on his face as he walked into the office building, but it couldn’t be farther from how he really felt. He basically ignored the workers who were confident enough to greet him, dismissing them with one nod. “The elevator is out of order, sir,” a young boy Xavier recognized as an intern told him. He had been sitting in a chair right next to the dysfunctional elevator. “Is this what your school sent you here for? To learn how elevators work?” Xavier said with irritation. The boy opened his mouth to speak by Xavier waved him away. He was more irritated by the problem with the elevator than the boy. “Has anyone called maintenance?” He asked. While the boy left to verify whether help was on the way, Xavier groaned with frustration and went through the stairs with Carlos following silently behind him. By the time he got to his office panting, he was pissed. He dismi
“Charlotte, wait,” he called, catching up with her in the hallway and pulling her hand. She stopped walking, but she didn’t turn to face him. “I’m sorry, Char,” he said, trying to get her to turn to him. She pulled her hands away from his and finally turned to face him. “Are you sorry about what you did or sorry because I found out?” She asked. Xavier glanced around and noticed the employees who now seemed to have so much to do on the hallway. “Please come back to the office. I’ll explain everything,” he begged her, trying to hold her hand again. She slapped it away. “Don’t you dare,” she snapped. “I already handed in my resignation letter. I am under no obligation to follow you anywhere.” “I never said you were under obligation,” he tried to explain. “I just want us to talk this out so I can explain to you and apologize appropriately. Preferably somewhere more private.” She pursed her lips and crossed her arms tighter. “Just forget it, Xavier. I’m too angry to even look at
“I can’t just let you go,” Carlos told her, trying to make her see reason. “I know you’re thinking about your job but trust me…” “This has nothing to do with my job,” he said. “I know that woman. She’s a snake. You’ll like her when you meet her but when she successfully corners you, she’ll strike.”Charlotte sighed. “I know you don’t support what I’m doing. You probably don’t even understand why I have to do this but it’s really important for me,” she said. Carlos was not the person she should be mad at. He was just looking out for her, like he always did for some reason. Sometimes, she wondered if he knew her from somewhere or if she reminded him of someone dear to him he had lost. “Mr Roman will be mad if he hears I drove you there,” he said and Charlotte frowned. “Will you stop mentioning his name?” She said in a sharp tone. “Whatever I choose to do with my life is my business. If you don’t drive me there I’ll find my way myself.” “Charlotte…” “Will you lock me up in my room
Everywhere went silent after Laura’s declaration. Charlotte blinked once, then twice, but she still didn’t wake up from the nightmare that was unfolding before her, nor did the woman take back her words. Charlotte looked down at the little boy who was clinging to his mother. He was a splitting image of her. The more she looked at him however, the more the boy began to look like the least person she wanted him to resemble. No, it couldn’t be. Xavier fell silent, but he was breathing hard. Slowly, everyone turned to him, waiting to see his reaction to the news. “Is this some kind of joke?” He asked faintly. “Of course not,” Laura said, a look of exaggerated shock masking her face. She held her son by the shoulder and tried to push him toward Xavier. “Caleb, this is your father.” “Can you stop fucking saying that!” Xavier snapped, running a hand through his hair. The boy flinched and ran back cowering between his mother’s legs. By now, several phones were raised and recording, as n
“It’s time for bed, Caleb. Let’s go,” Charlotte told Caleb with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him no room to argue. “Just let me win this game…” he argued absently, more focused on the game he was playing on his iPad. “You’ve spent your extra fifteen minutes,” she said, taking the device out of his grasp. He frowned, but conceded in the end. “Fine.” As Charlotte tucked him into bed, she couldn’t imagine how the times had changed. It had been six months since Laura had been taken away, her parents had been released and since she had started running her own business. Caleb had started therapy again, and it had definitely worked. These days, he spoke so often and did whatever he wanted to do that it was hard to believe he had been the same mute boy from months ago. He had just turned four, but the topic of his birth mother never came up fortunately. He seemed to blend right in, just as sweet and annoying as any other four year old boy. “I love you mommy,” he wh
When Charlotte saw Jonah being led out by a prison ward officer, she froze and started to wonder what she had been so scared about. He looked nothing like he did before. He had slimmed down to an almost unrecognizable state and his face looked like he had permanently lost the ability to smile. He walked with the slouch of someone that had given up on life in general. Charlotte doubted that whatever he was going through had happened in that prison in such a short time. “You can wait for me,” Charlotte whispered to Carlos who reluctantly left her side when he understood. “Hi,” Jonah said when he was sitting opposite her. He tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a grimace. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “Hi,” she said simply. She couldn’t let him see she pitied him. “How have you been?” He managed to ask. “You look good.” She couldn’t say the same for him. “Why did you call me here, Jonah?” “Straight to the point like always, huh?” He said with something she suspec
Xavier could only relax comfortably when they were back on the jet and on their way back to California. He could finally let himself be convinced that his dream had been nothing more than that. It hadn’t been a sign of anything, because it had gone on perfectly with no dramatic appearances from anyone. Unfortunately, the thought of one day running into Laura again came often to him and disoriented him. However, he always pushed that possibility away to the back of his mind. He had run a background check on the psych ward Don had placed her and from his research, it was a very exclusive place, so her chances of leaving were lower than zero. It was like a madhouse for wealthy people to drop off their family members who had lost it through drug use of whatever means. Their security was so prioritized that it was practically impossible to get in or get out unless the very owner of the establishment permitted. There was also no possible way Laura could bribe anyone there. It was afte
“Xavier, wake up! Wake up!” The sound of the female voice calling out to him sounded so distant at first, but the hand violently shaking his shoulders brought him back to consciousness. He was breathing fast, as his eyes got accustomed to the light around him, his chest heaving rapidly. “Are you okay?” Charlotte asked him, peering into his eyes as she touched the sides of his face. He could see the fear in her eyes as she studied him. “Charlotte,” he whispered, holding her arms and wrapping her in a tight hug. She was alive, here in front of him. “You’re alive.” “Yeah,” she said uncertainly, hugging him back. “Did anyone kill me?” She asked with a chuckle. He finally pulled out of the hug and glanced around. They were still in the jet, on their way to Orlando. He had just had a bad dream. “Where’s Caleb?” He asked. “Right here,” she said, pointing at a part of the jet where a small makeshift bed had been made for Caleb to lie on. “Is everything okay?” “Yeah,
After bidding Kate and her family goodbye, Xavier and Kate had to take the journey back, while consoling Caleb, who couldn’t understand why the twins had to leave without him. It was a Saturday, and for the first time in such a long time, Xavier had a free day. They all decided to spend the day together, to make up for Caleb’s friends leaving. Charlotte was extremely happy. She chatted and laughed all the way to the four seasons Orlando, where they decided to spend the day with their son, since he had seen a video about it online and wouldn’t shut up about going there. She held Caleb’s shoulders during takeoff in Xavier’s private jet, more to distract herself than him. No matter how often she rode in the jet, she still got jittery when they had to go anywhere in it. She had made an appointment with Dr Anna that morning and she couldn’t wait to finally carry out the surgery the week after. “Are we really going to Orlando?” Caleb asked, peering out of the window of the jet.
The ride home was mostly silent, with Xavier at the backseat, pondering on all that had happened that day while Carlos drove them home, shooting glances at his boss from time to time. “How was your break?” Xavier asked all of a sudden and Carlos cleared his throat. “Great. Thanks again for it. I really needed it,” he said with a smile. “How did it feel to have an actual conversation with her after so long?” Carlos sighed. “Not as bad as I thought. I actually feel better. Thanks for advising me to do it. We cleared some things out. She was mature about it and that’s that.” Xavier nodded and looked out the window at the trees that were zooming past. He remembered when Carlos had come to him for help when having to see Kate after the history they had was threatening to drive him insane. He had advised him to take a break, and then discuss with her when he was ready. It seemed to have worked. Carlos looked like himself again. It had been weird to find out that there had been a
“When will you come back, daddy?” Caleb’s little voice came over the phone and Xavier smiled. He could picture his son standing next to Charlotte and holding the phone to his ear with both his hands. “I’ll be there this night, I promise,” he replied. From the corner of his eye, he saw Private trying to get his attention. “Take care of mom for me, okay? I’ll see you soon.” “Bye daddy,” Caleb said and Xavier nodded before he ended the call. “What’s up?” He asked Private. “She’s causing a scene, boss. She’s yelling at everyone and she even pushed her brother and broke a glass on the doctor’s head when he tried to sedate her,” Private told him. There was an urgency in his private investigator’s voice as he reported to him, but there was also a hint of amusement in his tone. Xavier rolled his eyes and walked past him toward the ward he had left to answer his wife’s call. “Why was there glass next to her in the first place?” He asked no one in particular when he enterrés t
“My daddy used to beat my mommy before that woman took me and told she’s my real mommy,” Caleb explained the best way he could. “He told me he’s not my real daddy and that my mommy sold me to him.” “Wait, wait,” Charlotte told him. She had no idea what he was talking about and the more he spoke, the more confused she became. None of what he was saying made any sense. At this point, he was just throwing the words ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ around. “Laura, the woman that brought you to us, she’s your mommy, isn’t she?” She asked him slowly, hoping his answers would make sense to her this time. He shook his head. “That’s what she told me and then she brought me here after,” he said. “So you had other parents before she came?” She asked and he nodded. When Charlotte realized he wouldn’t give her an understandable answer, she decided to stop asking him so that he wouldn’t confuse her more. Since Xavier had gone out to find answers, this one might be one of them. She would ask him wh
“Mommy!” Caleb squealed when he saw Charlotte and ran up to her. She carried him up and enveloped him in a tight hug. She was still not used to him calling her ‘mommy’, but hearing it was so natural and calming. Whenever she was with him, she secretly hoped something would happen to Laura or that she would say she didn’t want him again. She didn’t think she would be able to move on if he had to leave to go back to his real mother. “Did you miss me?” She asked, tickling his tummy. “Uh huh,” he replied, laughing and trying to get her hand away from him. Charlotte kissed him on the forehead and carefully set him back on his feet. She held his small hand and allowed him to lead her into the house. She had been in a sour mood after the meeting with her parents, but just a few minutes with Caleb had softened her up. Kate looked at her and smiled. With a playful frown, she nudged Caleb and asked him why he didn’t notice her. He started to laugh. “What did you do today while we were g